| Networking
This
section involves getting information about a firm, warning others
if you've been a victim, and pooling resources for prosecution.
See
also the "Researching
Your Firm" section on the Links & Resources page.
1.
SHARE THIS SITE.
2.
PUBLIC FORA. Before
you decide to spill your story on a website, no matter how true
it is, you need to review the "anti-SLAPP"
section on the "Prosecution" page. Take great care with
how you solicit information about a firm, attempt to warn others,
or solicit others to pool funds towards prosecution.
Here
are a few. Mind your language and avoid getting sued and having
your posts removed.
FINANCIAL
SERVICES INDUSTRY MESSAGE BOARDS.
GENERAL
"COMPLAINT" SITES. If
your firm refuses to aid in resolving your complaint, sharing
it publicly may help exert some pressure as well as alert others.
- RipOffReport.com
/ BadBusinessBureau.com.
Note that RipOffReport runs a "Corporate
Advocacy Program" in which a maligned company can pay
RipOffReport for their "investigation" and "approval"
as a company consumers should "have confidence in".
I personally appreciate RipOffReport's value as a site where
consumers can complain or read about complaints about companies,
but I am very highly suspicious of the website operator then
charging these same companies for cleaning up their "record"
there. I personally have exactly ZERO faith in that program.
- Complaints.com.
- JobVent.com.
As the name implies, this site lets visitors "vent"
about their jobs, both good and bad. If posting there, do try
to follow JobVent's posting
guidelines, but although JobVent tells companies that simply
not agreeing with a complaint is not enough to warrant removing
it, I've seen JobVent cave to threats and remove posts that
did not violate their rules. Because of this, remain cautious
about relying on JobVent's ratings system.
- ComplaintsBoard.com.
- Scam.com.
ComplaintStation.com.
September 2005 - site is down.
"COMPLAINT"
SITES AGAINST INDIVIDUAL FIRMS. Your firm may have generated
enough ill-will to earn its own critical website(s).
3.
MEDIA
HELP
STOP THE SCAM. REPORT DECEPTIVE ADS TO NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER MEDIA
WHERE THEY WERE ADVERTISED!!! If you were
recruited through a newspaper or online job search site, report
the exact nature of the deception occurring within its media. Most
media have a public responsibility to remove fraudulent job postings
and will do so if enough complaints are received. (See Monster.com's
policy here.)
Many media guidelines state that a job advertiser must offer bona
fide employment, not an independent contractor or commission gig
(these must be posted under "business opportunities" or
"sales positions"). Of course, some media may consider
an advertiser's money more important than any obligation to the
public. They also need good reason to turn away that money -- you'd
better provide them with solid proof.
Remember,
scammer firms cannot remain solvent if they cannot recruit,
so your participation in this can aid in shutting them down when
other regulatory actions fail or take too long in catching up.
The
next section of Links
and Resources is highly recommended reading.
It includes lots of material relevant to both the financial industry
and MLMs in general. I highly recommend reading my article "ALL
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MLM", which gives you an
overview of how the financial services industry and others have
changed since adopting MLM-like structures, almost entirely to the
detriment of those work forces. |
Financial
Scam Home]
